Pelican cases live in the same realm as Otterbox cases do when it comes to ultimate protection for your electronic technology. If you’re the type of person who braves the elements, or is unfortunately clumsy, a heavy duty case is usually what you’re looking for. And if you’ve just bought a Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge, and you live one of the two aforementioned lifestyles, then you’ll probably be looking for a case like the Pelican Protector cases, which we’ve been taking a look at.

What’s in the box

We’ve got one of each of the Pelican Protector cases to look at: one for the Galaxy S6 and one for the S6 Edge. Both are relatively simply affairs packaging-wise with a simple box containing only the case itself. Pelican lists the cases as constructed from “PC ABS + TPR” which I can only assume means the hard parts of the case are made from an Acrylanitrile Butadiene Styrene Polycarbonate alloy and the softer rubbery parts are made from Thermoplastic Rubber. What this translates as is a very hard outer shell with rubbery, malleable insides which act as a cushion.

The look of the cases themselves is not unlike the Otterbox Commuter series – a hard case with a hard polycarbonate shell and rubbery insides. However, while the Commuter manages to be quite bulky, the Protector cases remain quite streamlined and even thin. That’s quite rare in a heavy duty case so it’s a welcome design choice.

How does it perform

To put your phone into the Protector case, you’ll need a bit of elbow grease – because the case is so rigid and thin, there’s actually very little give in the case itself, meaning you’ll need to press quite hard to get your phone inside. You’re instructed to put one end of your device into the case first and to press the other end in – this wasn’t a trivial task and it concerns me that it’s so difficult to put your phone in, particularly if you’re the type of person who likes to change cases a lot.

Once it is in, however, your Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge will be firmly snuggled into the Protector case with not a care in the world. The Protector cases provide impressive protection for all access ports (audio, microUSB, speaker), covers for all side buttons, and there is ample room for the camera to be operated.

If you own the Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge, you will already be aware that the camera actually protrudes quite a long way from the body of the device. One of my primary concerns with another Galaxy S6 case we reviewed, the Moshi iGlaze, was that the back of the case wasn’t raised enough to prevent the camera possibly stratching on the surface it was put on. There’s no such concern with the Protector cases – the rubber ring around the outside of the back cover provides an extra lip which provides enough leeway for your camera if you’re putting the phone on its back.

One of the other main concerns of any smartphone user looking for a case is whether the screen is protected, and much like the back of the case, the front of the Protector cases have a raised lip which protects the screen from harm when putting the phone on its face. This is even true for the S6 Edge case which has the lip on the top and bottom edges. An additional note about all this rubber around the outside of the case is that it makes it quite good to grip, which is a big plus if you’re the type of person with butter fingers.

What I like about the Pelican Protector cases

I mentioned earlier that the Protector cases felt quite slimline despite being quite heavy duty. This is especially obvious on the S6 Edge version which really minimizes the additional bezel that is added to the sides so as not to impeded your use of the curved edges. I can’t confirm just how easy since I was only using a dummy unit, but it really looks like it was a consideration for designing for this unusual form factor.

What I don’t like about the Pelican Protector cases

There’s not much to dislike about the Protector cases, but if there is one criticism, it’s that it’s so hard to get your case into the case. Removing the case is relatively easy – pushing on the camera and pulling on the top lip will pop out your phone quite quickly – but I was expecting an easier time getting the phone into the case, particularly seeing as the phone is generally perceived to be quite fragile. It’s definitely not a deal breaker seeing as there are much more difficult cases to use out there, but it’s just something to be mindful of.

Final thoughts

The Pelican Protector cases for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are definitely top choices if you’re looking for a heavy duty case that’s protective, yet still streamlined. It’s not waterproof or dustproof, but if you’re looking for that case to give you that extra little insurance when you’re heading into the great outdoors, you’d be hard pressed to find better cases than these.

Availability-wise, the Pelican Protector Cases for Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are apparently only available from the American telco, AT&T, who is offering the cases for $29.99 USD as an online special. If that’s you’re cup of tea, you can check out the Galaxy S6 product page here and the S6 Edge product page here. We’ll update this post in future if they become available elsewhere.